Etymology

frain

F4R1A1I1N1

Today it means: To ask, inquire. Full definition →

Middle English fraynen ← Old English freġnan ← Proto-West Germanic *fregnan
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frain · verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*preḱ-“to ask, woo”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*frehnaną“to ask”
  3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*fregnan
  4. Old English · inherited fromfreġnan
  5. Middle English · inherited fromfraynen
  6. English todayfrain

From Middle English fraynen, freinen (“to ask”), from Old English freġnan, friġnan (“to ask, inquire, learn”), from Proto-West Germanic *fregnan, from Proto-Germanic *frehnaną (“to ask”), from Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- (“to ask, woo”). Cognates Cognate with Icelandic fregna (“to ask, inquire”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌽𐌰𐌽 (fraihnan, “to ask”). Related also to Dutch vragen (“to ask”), German fragen (“to ask”), Norwegian frega (“to ask”), Latin precor (“ask, beseech”), Sanskrit पृच्छति (pṛccháti, “to ask”), Lithuanian prašyti (“to request”), Polish prosić (“to request”).

Frain · proper noun2

  1. Old French · derived fromfraisne
  2. English todayFrain

From Old French fraisne.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.